BOYS DON'T CRY Second Edition
by SlickCiggy27
Summary: Two shifters, cursed by the zodiac and only halfway through their high school career find laughter and love in a fan-fiction primarily based on the anime. Please note, this fan-fiction does contain mature content. (Anime)(IC)(Kyo x Yuki)
1. Chapter 1: Every Other Time

_**Note: **All author notes and information will from henceforth be placed at the bottom of the chapters in an effort to let readers get straight to the good stuff. Please keep that in mind, when considering chapter ratings and other disclaimers. I don't want any candy asses saying they weren't warned. _

**Chapter One: Every Other Time**

It was such a beautiful day it was almost too much.

Birds were chirping. Squirrels were doing that bit where they nibble on things with their impossibly cute little teeth. Even the honey badgers seemed rather tame—content to be all manner of bad-ass from the comfort of their little burrows. (Or hovels, maybe dens?—I'm not really sure.)

Laundry hanging from clothes lines would carry the scent of the cherry blossoms the spring cool air current kept floating through the air. The sun was bright. And the grass was warm and pleasantly supple, even the bit in the back corner of the lawn most sprinklers don't quite reach.

The world seemed at utter peace. And if it weren't for the house in the middle of the forest, perhaps things might have stayed that way at least until breakfast was finished.

_Crack!_

The front door splintered into pieces as Kyo crashed through it, flying across the deck into the front yard. He hit the ground and rolled.

"Kyo!" Tohru squealed, pressing her fists her mouth.

Pain echoed through his body and Kyo grimaced. Something was definitely broken. The side of his torso pulsed with pain whose origin he couldn't quite pinpoint. The only thing he knew for sure was that if he stayed down a second longer it would be a show of weakness. He wheezed, trying to force air in his lungs as if an increased intake in oxygen was going to somehow cure the pain wracking his rib cage.

After quickly glancing at his wrist to make sure his bracelet was still secure around his wrist, Kyo spat and tried to brace himself in an attempt to lever himself off the ground. His muscles protested and his mouth watered with a sudden onset of nausea. He ignored it. _It had to take more than that to finish him._

"Your guard is pathetic as always." Yuki gracefully ducked through the gaping hole where the doors had once been. There was an air of annoyance about him one would usually associate with someone swatting a fly, not engaging in combat—because Kyo needed more reason to riddle the air with every curse word he'd ever sampled since infancy.

Honestly, there was a part of him that couldn't help but marvel at the ridiculous of it all. Just a few moments ago, he'd been opposite Tohru, knee-deep in a nice cold carton of milk. Now, he was sprawled out across the ground like road kill. It'd be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. It wasn't so much pathetic as it was things were progressively getting worse. In the months since Kyo had moved into Shigure's house with Yuki, they'd had broken so many doors it was a wonder someone hadn't contacted a forest conservation organization-they had to be killing a lot of trees somewhere. (Like seriously.) Maybe they should start recycling to sort of even the playing field a bit.

Kyo almost laughed out loud in an inexplicable bout of bitter amusement. What might have been a grim chuckle turned into a hacking, lung-rattling cough and he shook with the effort not to fall face first in the dirt.

"Kyo?" Shigure called from the other side of what was left of the doors. More than likely, he was just where Kyo had left him, sitting at the head of the table with a cup of tea and that stupid fucking smile on his face. Or maybe not, maybe that was actual concern in his voice. Kyo had his doubts, though.

He hadn't seemed so concerned a few moments ago. In fact, the only one who even looked remotely interested in whether or not he was still alive and breathing was Tohru, who seemed to be frozen in fear.

"Yeah," Kyo swallowed against a cough and forced himself to sound sturdier than he felt. It was easy after living on the compound for so many years. Nothing made a good actor than the regular being terrorized on a daily basis—according to everyone else, it built character. _Evil fucks. _

"Oh, good. I thought you were dead for a moment." Shigure's tone took on a more cheerful note. "Shall I call Hatori?"

He sucked in a trembling breath, "No."

"Kyo," as if suddenly remembering herself, Tohru leapt up from the table and padded out onto the porch. She paused, glanced down at her slippers and seemed to decide, _bunny-slippers be darned, what if Kyo is hurt?_ Or at least that is how Kyo imagined it sounded in that funny little head of hers.

She flew down the steps and Kyo mustered the energy to lift his head and yell," Back off!"

Tohru skidded to a stop, flinching as if he'd physically struck her. He might as well have. She was too damn sensitive. It was either that or he was just an ass. He doubted it was hard call to make. But Tohru's warm-fuzzies be damned, he was already humiliated enough without needing to add having some girl pick him up like a child.

It was strange, but as much pain as he was in and as bad as he felt having yelled at her there was something strangely different about this defeat. For the first time in a long time, he wasn't lost in rage. It wasn't as if the rage had all of the sudden disappeared. On the contrary, Yuki had spin-kicked him through the door and he'd hadn't even landed a single punch—he was furious…with himself.

For the first time in a long time that self-hatred was enough to convince Kyo that even if his rib was broken, he was going to get up not because he couldn't bear to lose face in front of that fucking rodent, but because he might kill himself if he didn't. It wasn't fair. All he wanted was to hit him one time and he couldn't even manage that. His master would be ashamed and rightfully so. That was unacceptable. He'd work on his strategy. He'd figure it out. But right now, he needed to get the hell up off the ground.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tohru whispered, quietly.

"Just…go away." Kyo swallowed a curse and forced himself to his feet. "Just go the hell away." He stumbled, but quickly found his balance. "I don't need anyone's help."

Yuki grabbed the bottom of his tailored, long-sleeve shirt and gave it a firm tug, his disdain was evident, but he managed to sound just as put together as ever. "Why do you even bother, Miss Honda?"

"Screw you," Kyo winced and forced one foot in front of the other, hoping to hell he was walking toward the general direction of the forest. He'd sort himself out as soon as he got out from under praying eyes. _Just a little longer._ He clenched his fists at his side, his concentration on battling a sudden affliction of vertigo.

Every step he took was weighted with shame and truth be told, he should have been used to it by now.

_**Later that evening…**_

This school business was getting ridiculous.

As much as Yuki hated attending an all boy's school or worse, being under Akito's domain, something had to be said about the benefits of being able to set his own learning schedule. He was a nocturnal creature by nature. If that wasn't enough, his extracurricular activities were requiring much more effort and dedication on his part than what was originally expected. For goodness sakes, he was only one rat. Even Cinderella had an army at her disposal.

Yuki yawned and rubbed his damp hair with is towel as he started toward the recently replaced front door. He scrolled through a metal list of topics to be discussed during tomorrow's student council meeting and pulled the door open to find Tohru waiting for him, with a steaming cup of coffee cradle between her palms.

Dressed in her strawberry pajamas, she was the epitome of cute. That along with the innocent blush on her cheeks was enough to set Yuki's teeth on edge. She was waiting for him because she wanted something. He just knew it. If that cup of tea was the kind of tea he knew it was, she'd gone through the trouble of brewing him the perfect cup of green tea. She'd steeped it just before boiling point, careful not to burn it, and lovingly served it in his favorite tea cup.

If she wasn't so innocent, he would've rightfully called her a manipulative bitch. Instead, she so damn endearing and sweet that he knew without a doubt that despite his exhaustion he would do whatever it was she asked of him because let's face it, Tohru was too damn cute to properly hate like any other Mary-Sue.

"Yuki?"

Swallowing a sigh, he crossed the distance between them and gently touched her arm. "Yes, Miss Honda?"

"Well-her voice shook a little and her grip tightened on the mug—"I can't find Kyo," she finally blurted.

"No?" He lifted a brow and dropped his hand from her arm. Honestly, he should've seen that coming. (Word.)

She shook her head and bit her lip. "I've looked everywhere. He's not on the roof, in his room, around the house. I even checked in the woods for him. I couldn't find him anywhere. Shigure doesn't think I should worry about it, but I really have a horrible feeling about this. And my mom always said that sometimes we have to go with our gut feelings, and—"

"Miss Honda," Yuki interrupted, lifting his hand. He pinned up the nicest smile he could and touched her shoulder, trying to add a touch of encouragement to what he felt like was almost a near plead. "Please, don't worry yourself so much. I agree with Shigure on this matter, but if it makes you feel better I will go out and look for him. I am more intimate with forest than you are."

The sadness that had crossed her face at the mention of her mother lingered, but she seemed to brighten up at bit at that. "Thank you so much, Yuki. You're so kind. I really am grateful. I'll wait here for you guys," she extended him the tea cup."

He accepted the cup and forced a smile. "My pleasure, Miss Honda, but please don't stay up on our account. We have a test tomorrow and it wouldn't do for you to be too tired to do your very best."

"Are you sure?" She seemed doubtful.

He gave her a little nudge toward the staircase. "Positive."

"Okay, if you're sure you're sure. Thank you," she bowed and started toward the staircase. "Good night, Yuki. Have sweat dreams."

Yuki's façade fell the moment she disappeared up the stairs. "Oh, I'll find him and when I do I'm going to skin him…alive."

Nearly an hour later, Yuki was nowhere nearer to finding Kyo and his patience was growing thin. Where in the hell was that damn cat? Had he finally gotten eaten? Had he runaway to go back to fighting bears up on that mountain? Probably not. That would be entirely too lucky. He paused and cast a glance backwards, wondering whether he should just call it a night. At this rate he wouldn't find him till morning and there was always the possibility that Kyo had already found his way home and he was wondering around the damn forest for no reason. If Kyo had been anyone else, Yuki might have called upon his tiny friends for help, but things hadn't ended very well the last time he'd attempted that. To be frank, the rats had taken issue with being sent into the jaws of death. And they had a point.

The idea of being forced to explain his failed "search and rescue" attempt to Miss Honda irked him. It would be less morally chafing to assault the elderly or at least, that's what it felt like.

Before Tohru had come to live with them, there had been a marked chilliness about the house. Shigure was lively in his own way, but it didn't change the fact that no matter what he was still cursed. And because of that there would still be a shadow hanging over whatever happiness he did manage to savor for himself. His flamboyance was an almost a defense mechanism. Much in the same way as his occupation was. What better way to earn a living than to practice escapism via the comfort of your typewriter?

Tohru brought life and warmth into a household filled with those who hadn't quite grasped how to love and be loved. In retrospect, it was all rather poetic. And yet, he couldn't help but wonder if they were all being selfish in exposing her to their family's dirty little secrets. Even Wendy eventually went home at the end of that one book or at least, that is what his English Literature Instructor had said.

The wind picked up, the cold air cutting through Yuki's flannel pajama pants and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep his teeth from chattering. He shoved his hands in his black p-coats pockets and tried to remember anything Kyo might have said earlier that morning that might give him some illusion as to his whereabouts.

If memory served Yuki correctly, Kyo had worn a light blue hoodie, a pair of cargo pants to breakfast. He also hadn't worn a jacket or shoes. Yuki wrinkled his nose in disgust. Why people ever chose to barefoot would continue to elude him.

Regardless, wherever Kyo was, his nether regions were surely frost bitten by now. _Serves him right_. If Kyo hadn't continued to provoke him, none of this would have happened. Honestly, Kyo's repeated attempts to engage Yuki in that ridiculous contest were beginning to really get on his nerves. His life was already filled to brim with obstacles; he hardly needed another one following him around, beating on his chest like a Neanderthal in heat.

_Okay, that last bit was rather funny._ Yuki's mouth twitched and he shook his head, allowing himself the small smile.

A half an hour later, he'd reached the edge of the dense forest, coming upon the lake. _I should've brought catnip. Cats love catnip._ Weary, Yuki dragged his feet across the sandy bank, peering across the water. It shimmered beneath the moonlight and the clear sky and bright stars lit up the sky until the entire world seemed to be glowing radiant blue. There was something of a hyper-reality to it all and for a moment, Yuki forgave Kyo for being an insensitive ass. Surely, he hadn't seen a more beautiful sight. "Well, I guess this wasn't a total waste."

Something was there, behind him, coming fast and hard. Before his senses could relay any more information, something tackled him, and he fell fast first. He barely had enough time to catch himself just enough to keep his face from slamming against the ground, but not quite enough to manage to keep from suffering the added weight of his attacker.

"That's right, you damn…cat." Kyo's words were harsh in Yuki's ears. "I finally got…you."

Suddenly, Kyo keeled over on the ground next to Yuki, smacking his face against a blunt rock. Yuki flinched afraid to hear a _crack_ that luckily didn't come and scrambled up. _Did that just happen? _He quickly mopped his hair out of his ears, trying to drag deep breathes into his quaking lungs.

"Kyo?" he whispered, feeling the first whispers of fear for the first time that night.

Kyo groaned and rolled over, trying to awkwardly wrap his arms around his mid-section.

Yuki's panic swelled and he dropped to his knees at Kyo's side. "Kyo?"

When Kyo didn't answer, Yuki gripped him by the shoulders and shook him."Kyo."

Kyo mumbled something incoherent and Yuki's throat worked as tension chorded every muscle in his body. What the hell had happened to him? Kyo could take care of himself. Maybe he'd been attacked?

Yuki glanced around, surveying his surroundings. He felt the uncomfortable tickle of his animal stretching beneath his skin as he cast all of his senses, hoping to net something that might explain Kyo's condition.

There was nothing.

Yuki looked down to Kyo, watching a breeze feathered through his unruly, filthy orange hair. He didn't look as if he'd been attacked. He just looked…beaten. His face was smudged with dirt and there were a few tracks from where his tears had momentarily washed the grim away. Yuki blinked, noting the splotches and stains where Kyo must have fallen a few times before. His mind peeled back his memories and he thought back to how Kyo had seemed to struggle to stand after he'd been kicked through the door.

And for the first time since he and Kyo had been a child, Yuki saw him as broken doll strewn across the muddied sand. It was tragic and dramatic and it hardly helped with the disturbing realization that he may have been the cause of serious injury. It was one thing to fight. It was entirely another to outright murder someone, much less his flesh and blood.

Fear was quickly taking hold and Yuki struggled against the urge to panic. He mentally cursed himself for being so dramatic and steeled himself. Now, certainly wasn't the time to prove Akito right. He failed at his life's ambition another day.

Yuki bent and sent a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was listening for the supernatural strength attributed to his animal form that made it possible heave Kyo's jumble of dense musculature over his shoulder. It was bad enough that the idiot was nothing but muscle and mouth, but he also happened to be a tall idiot as well.

Halfway to the house, Yuki's legs had begun to wobble from a combination of the two liters of milk Kyo insisted on drinking a day, lack of beauty sleep and the damp spring chill. Cherry blossoms be damned—April showers were unnecessary.

"Where's Kagura when you need her?" He huffed, trying to distract from the burning in his calve muscles. "Where's Tohru? Hmm? She never ceases to be there when transforming could utterly blow our cover, but heavens forbid she should decide to impart her wisdom when hugging one of us would perfectly appropriate and useful. All I'd have to do is carry a fuzz ball back to the house, but instead—"

Kyo mumbled something and Yuki snorted. "Wonderful, I can't even monologue without being interrupted."

"Put me…down." Kyo's voice was harsh, but it once again had the fire it normally did. "Now, damn it."

Yuki continued, "You're in no condition to walk."

"I can…walk so put me down. I don't need your help. Even if I did, I wouldn't want it."

"Fine," Yuki came to an abrupt halt and dropped Kyo unceremoniously on the damp forest floor.

Kyo landed on his ass and groaned. Muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like it might have rhymed with motherclucker, Kyo wrapped one arm around his mid-section and used the other hand to dragged himself backwards. Pocketing his hands, Yuki watched his progress with growing concern.

"Did you hurt your stomach?" Yuki chanced, taking slow steps to close the distance. "Let me help you get to the house. We'll call Hatori—"

Kyo fisted a handful of dirt and leaves and flung it with surprising force at Yuki. "Get the fuck away from me!"

Yuki could've evaded the fallout rather easily but the vehemence Kyo had expressed shocked him into standing still.

Grasping blindly at the earth around at him, Kyo flung heaved another first fully of mulch. "I said get the fuck away from me!"

Kyo didn't seem to have the same energy store as he'd had before and that handful of dirt barely grazed the bottom of Yuki's pant leg, but he took a step back anyways.

He couldn't quite decide whether he was afraid or confused or simply so shocked he was all three. Though he couldn't understand why, the louder Kyo screamed, the more dirt showered at his feet, the more the entire thing…hurt. It hurt him in a way it had never before and Yuki had the disturbing suspicion this-what was happening that very second was the first time either one of them had ever acknowledged to one another that there childhood rivalry was slowly becoming something much more ugly and real. They were truly starting to hate one another.

In a way, he'd always known Kyo would hate him eventually, but that was before he started making enough tea for four people or making sure to pick up milk whenever Tohru sent him to the store for last-minute groceries, regardless of whether there was any in the house because it was the only thing Kyo would drink or eat without a doubt. And Tohru had already mentioned Kyo's irregular eating habits as of late.

He could even venture to claim to understand his cousin's reasons for feeling threatened by Yuki's very existence. However, he hadn't known Kyo hated him enough to risk possibly freezing to death or at the very least; needlessly prolonging what seemed like very serious pain.

Suddenly, Yuki turned on his heel and began to walk away in earnest. Whether he was actually worthy of Kyo's hate or not really didn't matter. It was always written that they would hate one another—it was simply a matter of time.

_**An hour later…**_

Something rustled a brush and Yuki lifted his head from where he'd been resting his chin on his knees. Seconds later, Kyo appeared leaning heavily, still holding onto his torso. He was breathing heavily and his hair was wet with sweat, his shaggy bangs sticking to his forehead. He was even filthier than when Yuki had left him. Dry leaves and mug clung to his feet as he was positively drenched in a combination of sweat and soil, and he seemed to have abandoned his shirt sometime during his trek. And yet, despite all of that, Yuki had never admired him more.

As ridiculously childish, and possibly harmful for his injuries, as his prideful attempt to save face had been, Yuki couldn't help but marvel at the determination and sheer will it must have taken to do as Kyo had. Perhaps, that determination would be what eventually led to Yuki's undoing, according to Kyo who held fast to the belief that if he could somehow best Yuki in physical combat that he would somehow win back his place in the zodiac—as if the simple act of smacking Yuki around a bit would alter the course of history and right all of the grievances that had ever been committed against him and every cat before him. It was ridiculous and it reeked of Akito's cruel influence.

Kyo's stumbled and caught himself on the neighboring tree. He slumped against it and his body violently trembled as a gust of wind broke against him. He lifted his gaze, staring past Yuki to the house and then, his face contorted in a cocktail of pain, desperation and relief.

Yuki watched, horrified as Kyo crumbled against the tree, slumping down to his knees. He failed to catch or steady himself and fell over, hitting the ground with a heavy and ominously resolute thud. Yukie vaulted from the porch and quickly ran to Kyo's side.

Kyo was unconscious and Yuki quickly knelt down and touched his fingers to his cousin's brow. His skin was like ice, but his brow was wet with sweat like he was burning up. He may have had a fever, but it didn't explain his lack of a shirt. But if memory served him correctly, the brain tricked someone in the latter stages of hyperthermia that they were extremely hot as some sort of twisted survival instinct.

Once again, Yuki fought down a sharp ribbon of panic and clenched his fists at his sides. Pride and stupidity was a lethal combination. Yuki made a mental note to smack Kyo for being both later and did his best to quickly and gently hoist Kyo over his shoulder, the only way he could conceivably be expected to carry someone who had at the very least forty pounds on him up the stairs.

He'd get Kyo into a hot bath and then, he'd wake up Shigure and call Hatori. A part of Yuki bristled at having to carry Kyo once again. There was something undeniably soporific and cliché about the whole situation that set Yuki's teeth on edge. If Kyo hadn't decided to crawl on his knees like a wounded solider across the expanse of what was arguably their front yard, the gravity of this situation wouldn't have merited an instrumental soundtrack.

Yuki made it through the door with the clever use of his foot and quickly, proceeded up the stairs, ignoring the burn in his chest from the exertion. He used the same patented technique on the bathroom door and set Kyo down on the floor as gently as he could. He immediately scrambled across the bathroom to the bath tub to the right of the shower stall and quickly turned on warm water, hoping it wouldn't be hot enough to burn him. He quickly returned to Kyo's side and rolled him onto his back. Despite the fact that Kyo was pretty much a hunk of dead weight, Yuki made quick work of his pants. Sweat trickled down the nape of his neck, clung to his bangs and Yuki dropped Kyo's soiled trousers on the floor.

Momentarily abandoning Kyo, Yuki shrugged out of his jacket and shoes, struggling to take deep breaths as the bathroom filled with steam. Depositing them on the floor with the rest of the soiled clothing, Yuki reached for the light switch next to the door and flipped the light on. He'd been operating by the moonlight shining through the bathroom window and he hardly needed to kill them both trying to lift Kyo into the bath tub. As he turned, he hurriedly rolled up his pajamas sleeves, only to have his immediate attention stolen by the trail of hair drawing a line down the bottom half of Kyo's toned stomach, disappearing beneath the edge of his boxers.

Four perfect squares and two really impressive runner ups toward the top were outlined beneath his tight pectorals and Yuki's mouth went impossibly dry. He blinked, mesmerized by the very person who annoyed him most, with the exception of Shigure, Ayame, Hatori and pretty much anyone else over the age of eighteen.

His disturbing interest in Kyo's nudity was rewarded with the harshest dose of guilt Yuki had experienced in a very long time. There was a large, purple bruise darkening the left side of torso the size of a hand…or perhaps, a…foot?

Yuki's eyes widened as he experienced a flashback of their earlier fight. Injury was to be expected when two people fought, especially when they both possessed martial art training, but still he hadn't mean to do anything that would've resulted in the sharp discoloration dotting his side, similar to the way ink looked splattered cloth. Lots of ink in this case. So much ink that Yuki was almost positive something—a rib perhaps—was most definitely broken.

Kyo coughed and Yuki jumped, remembering himself. He tested the water and adjusted the settings accordingly. He turned, wondering whether or not to worry about Kyo's underwear accordingly. He turned, wondering whether or not to worry about Kyo's underwear. Yuki didn't particularly relish the idea of Kyo waking up to find himself nude in Yuki's company—the swearing was reason enough to ignore that his boxers were just as wet and dirty as his pants had been.

Yuki crouched down and hooked his fingers in the elastic band. He swallowed hard, hyperaware of how Kyo felt beneath his fingers. It was strange, but as he pulled the fabric down over the slope of his midriff, over the subtle arch of his 'v' shaped pelvis, he couldn't have torn his eyes from the skin being bared before his eyes. _I thought he was the type to shave…_Yet, as the trail of hair of his stop widened and more Kyo's unruly pubic hair was revealed, Yuki forcibly looked away suddenly ashamed of himself. His cousin was depending on him and he was looking at him…weird. It was wrong and pain he hadn't realized he still carried from a childhood best forgotten threatened to send him awash into darkness.

Kyo stirred and Yuki fell back on his ass and back pedaled until his back collided with the edge of the doorway. His jaw clenched as he wrestled his self-control back into submission. Lifting his offending hand, he stared at his creased palm as if it'd betrayed his trust. _Whatever had happened could and would never happen again._ Hauling himself back to his feet, Yuki tugged at the bottom of his shirt, carefully ignoring the fact that when he'd fallen he'd accidently pulled the boxers down low enough to leave Kyo's privates exposed.

Without further hesitation or even the barest hint of a nervous quiver, he finished stripping him and managed him into the tub as gently as he could. Immediately afterwards, Yuki phoned Hatori, woke Shigure to attend Kyo and was in bed pretending to be asleep before anyone could make the mistake of praising his part in the rescue—if anything Yuki was the one who needed saving…from Kyo.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_

_(__Don't worry this bottom bit won't always be this long—this is just some basic info that I'm putting at the bottom of the first chapter only__.)_

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read my little mini self-improvement project. If you read the original story: welcome back! I hope I didn't disappoint and I hoped I added enough new content to justify a reread.

If you're new, welcome! Reviews are always appreciated. I don't mind negative criticism and I like returning reads.

**_Chapter-Related Questions:_** Well…? What does everyone think? I tried to even out Yuki and Kyo's characters as it was brought to my attention (not in a negative way) that sometimes the boys seemed rather overly melodramatic. Though, please note, I write as IC (in-character) fan-fiction as my plot and genre will allow, so if I have failed in that regard I really want to know about it. Oh and how was my pacing?

For those of you that are wondering why this edition of BDC will have shorter—and therefore more—chapters, it is because I wanted to be able to update at least a once a weak and a shorter average chapter (which in this case is about 4k-5k words give or take a few) ensures that I don't get burnt out writing ridiculously long chapters.

If you're looking for more information about the Boys Don't Cry: Second Edition, please feel free to check out the explanation I have listed on my profile page.

_**Other Notes: **_ This fan-fiction is primarily based upon the Anime, though I may supplement information or plot wholes with stuff from the Manga from time to time. If I do something crazy like change Akito back into a girl (as she is in the Manga) I'll let you know. Also, this fan-fiction is set during their second year of high-school. I might need help with keeping some stuff in the timeline straight, but I'll make a mention of it. Oh, and bear with me as far as errors are concerned. I'm writing this quickly and I'm the only one going over it. If there's something crazy glaring, please feel free to PM about it. That's it! Enjoy!

_**Chapter Rating: **_Rated 'T' for dirty thoughts of the smexy variety. Warning! If you don't like Yaoi (boy x boy), this will not be your cup of tea.

_**Disclaimer**_: I do not own Fruits Basket. I simply aim to create fan-fiction to satisfy the yearnings of naughty little fan-girls and boys everywhere!


	2. Chapter 2: Dream a Little Dream of Me

**Chapter Two: Dream a Little Dream of Me**

_**A month and half after the events in the previous chapter…**_

"I'm not eating that," Kyo growled, folding his arms across his chest.

Tray in hand, Tohru halted in her tracks, trying awkwardly to speak despite the blush coloring her cheeks. She looked toward Hatori, who was kneeling at Kyo's bedside armed with a stethoscope. He pressed it against Kyo's back, apparently too absorbed in the task at hand to offer Tohru the guidance she obviously wanted.

"But…um—she finally started—they're really good for when you're sick so I figured—"

"I hate leeks." he snapped, knowing he was being an ass and somehow not quite able to stop himself from barring his canines every two seconds. "And I don't have damn cold." "Enough, Kyo," Hatori's tone was mellow, but Kyo hardly missed the faint threat vibrating just below the surface, "You may not have cold, but you do have mild fever and h a fractured ribs. Leeks are nourishing, natural healing remedy."

Kyo grumbled, stubbornly refusing to even acknowledge Tohru as she set the tray down on his opposite bedside. "So?"

"So eat the damn soup, Kyo."

Watching the entire scene from from a small crack in the door, Yuki tried to roll his eyes as he Kyo turned his head from side to side in an effort to avoid Tohru's leek-soup airplane. Yuki frowned, fighting the urge to regulate Kyo's behavior toward Miss Honda. Would it kill him to actually think of someone other than himself for a few moments?

Tohru uncovered the bowl and picked it and the spoon up. "Come on, Kyo, for me? I promise as soon as Yuki gets home from his student council meeting I'll ask him to go to the grocery store while I'm at work and I'll make you some fish soup."

Kyo glanced at Tohru's big pleading eyes and then turned his gaze upwards as he dragged a hand down his side of his face. "But Tohru, I didn't ask you to do any of that."

"That's why you should be more appreciative and thank Tohru, before I wire your mouth shut and prescribe a soft-food only diet."

Hatori punctuated his statement with s sharp look and Kyo practically hissed at him. It was times like these when it wasn't hard to picture Kyo as cat…or some-kind of half-breed creature, who was more animal than man. Regardless, it was enough to persuade Kyo to at least take the bowl from Tohru's possession. She blinked; seemingly shocked that he intended to feed himself it appeared from now on. She should've known Kyo would only allow her to play nurse as long as it took for him to be able to manage the rudeness of snatching the bowl from her hands. Perhaps, that kind of behavior was the reason no one had bothered to ask Yuki "how" he'd accidently broken Kyo's rib.

"When am I going to get better? I can't take lying like this in a bed for another week." Kyo huffed, frowning down at the soup.

Hatori straightened and dropped his stethoscope back in his brief case, "When this fever clears you should be fine. Your ribs have pretty much healed so as long as you take it easy for the next couple of days. I've brought you some more pain medication just in case-he made a move that suggested he was about to turn and Yuki flattened himself against the wall—oh, and eat the damn soup."

"Okay! Sheesh…."

Tohru giggled at Kyo's gripping. Yuki leapt away from his cousin's bedroom door and forced a passive expression as Hatori opened the door to find him "walking up the hall."

"There you are, Yuki." Hatori's expression and tone lacked animation at usual. He closed the door behind himself and quietly took a few steps into the hall, casting a rather daunting shadow over Yuki.

"Hello, Hatori." he responded calmly and looked him in the eye as he would've any other time, proud at how much more "together" he sounded considering he felt like he'd just been caught cheating. "What can I do for you?"

"Aren't you curious to know how Kyo is doing?"

Yuki lifted a brow, "If you had answer my previous question with a proper answer, I could've asked you how Kyo is doing as I had planned eventually at some point in the conversation." Yuki offered him a rather bland smile. "But since you insist, how is Kyo doing?"

"He'll be fully recovered in no time. And, by the way, I'm fine."

"Good…for both of you." An awkward silence hung between them and Yuki forced himself to hold Hatori's mystifying, sometimes dangerous, gaze even though the exaggerated formality of the entire conversation reeked of the general environment Yuki normally associated with the Sohma family compound and it set his teeth on edge.

If Yuki's sass ruffled any of Hatori's feathers, he didn't show it. Of course, he didn't. He rarely showed much of anything, except for occasional annoyance concerning Ayame. He never lost his patience, he rarely ever seemed to feel the need to explain himself and that would be all well in good if Yuki wasn't constantly striving to maintain the same iron tight hold on his self-control-watching Hatori do it so effortlessly was almost vexing.

Finally, Yuki cleared his throat to break the silence, "You'll have to excuse me. I have a big test tomorrow and I was on my way to study."

"Very well, I'll see you soon during our next appointment."

Yuki slightly bowed, "Yes, of course. See you then, drive safely."

Hatori made a noncommittal sound as Yuki turned crossed the hallway to his bedroom, moving with a practiced calm as he closed his door behind himself, just in time to glimpse the older man disappearance down the stairs. _Finally. _Yuki let out a heavy sigh, resting his brow against the door.

He'd made it a point not to skip a beat since the entire incident happened. He'd barely gone to visit Kyo, preferring to do so when he was too ill to really be coherent or napping due to all the pain medication For the most part, he'd left his care up to Tohru, Shigure and Hatori. He hadn't even told anyone what had actually happened that night, preferring they believe he'd woken up in the middle of the night and found Kyo passed out in the bathtub.

Kyo couldn't remember enough to say otherwise, and even if he could Yuki doubted he'd say anything that might damage what having clawed his way back from the grave into the house with a broken rib and advanced hyperthermia did for his reputation. Girls were practically sending their underwear along with their Get Well cards. True, Yuki received three times as many little favors when he was ill, but there was something Kyo receiving the same kind of attention that irked him in way he could quite understand.

An image of Kyo's body sprawled out across the bathroom floor flashed through Yuki's mind and his cheeks warmed. _Oh, yeah…maybe that's why._ He set down his school things and sunk down to the floor, pulling his legs against his chest so he could bury his embarrassment in his knees. As much as he wanted to forget how Kyo's body had made him feel, he couldn't. He could no longer remember a time when he hadn't dreaded bedtime because sleep always meant dreams that confused and aroused him in more ways than one.

Every morning for nearly a month Yuki had woken up with an aching erection and a wet spot on his sheets. Tohru had already mentioned the sudden increase in sheet cycles and he'd just barely come up with a sufficient explanation.

Yuki flushed even brighter. He used to being the center of attention, he was used to constantly being leered at from both sexes in a wide array of age groups. And he'd long since be introduced to things that had things been different he would only just now be discovering and experimenting with.

It wasn't naivety or innocence keeping in a perpetual state of confusion. And it was more than the fact that what he'd felt was considered wrong in pretty much every conventional way. It was a horrible combination of taboo lust and shame that was steadily trying to undermine his attempt to keep his shit together until he either died or the freak phase decided to pass.

"Why him?" he whispered quietly to himself and, perhaps, to any guardian spirits that might be listening.

_I need to stop obsessing over this. It's only going to make things worse_. Carefully reining his emotions back under his tidy control, he forced himself to put on a passive mask and stood, rapidly dusting imaginary specs off of his black uniform's sleeves.

Afterwards, he forced his mind to more emotionally manageable tasks like changing his clothes and going over his study notes.

"Yuki!" Shigure's voice traveled up the stairs, echoing down the halls, "Yuki!"

Yuki frowned, snapped his notebook shut and started down stairs. _If he insists on barking like a dog I wish he would do us all a favor and transform. _He crossed the expanse of the open living and dining and peered into Shigure's office, where his older cousin sat behind his desk, scribbling furiously in a writing pad.

_Is he actually working?_ Yuki drew his eyebrows together, somewhat impressed Shigure was so busy at work. It was sort of refreshing to see him in his glasses, being the author all kinds of magazines and supplements praised. He padded into the room, only to come to an abrupt stop as he gleaned a cleared picture of just what it was Shigure was busy scribbling away at. He gritted his teeth and his jaw quirked and he prayed for the patience not to pummel the perverted old bastard into the ground.

Yuki folded his arms across his chest. "What do you want, Shigure?"

Shigure froze for a moment, and then quickly tucked his pad on his lap. "Ah, there you are, Yuki!"

Yuki quirked a brow, but was remained otherwise silent.

Shigure scratched the back of his head using the pen, "Anyways, I dropped by school today and picked up this week's assignments for Kyo. Could you please do me the favor of taking them up stairs with you?"

Yuki swallowed the urge to tell him to do it himself and chose the quickest way out of the conversation. Sure."

"Oh, thank you," he flung his arms open and made as if he intended to stand, "You're the best little cousin ever."

"I'll kill you." Yuki narrowed his eyes and Shigure seemed to gather he was nearing very thin, thin ice.

Shigure plopped back down on his cushion and his expression sobered. "Are you okay?" He was suddenly serious, his voice devoid of its usual flippancy. "You seem…uncomfortable?"

"Who wouldn't be when standing in a room with a pervert, who spends his free time doodling naked high school girls?" His voice remained even, polite even, and he couldn't help the little twisted sense of satisfaction at the sheepish look of guilt that crossed Shigure's face.

Yuki set his notebook on the top of the neat stack of assignments and cradled the short tower. "I'm leaving now."

A few minutes later he found himself regretting having agreed to bring the books to Kyo even though Yuki refused to admit his heart was beating twice as fast as it normally did when he climbed the stairs. He was going to deliver the assignments to his bed-ridden cousin and that was it. There was nothing more or less to it and maybe if he started acting like it whatever he was feeling would suddenly fade away. _Yeah, right._

Using his foot, he slid open Kyo's door, expecting Tohru to greet him as he entered the room, but instead he was met with a passing glance of annoyance from Kyo from over the brim of another book. Kyo's hears were covered with a pair of headphones and Yuki vaguely recognized the faint tune from somewhere.

Yuki came to stand in the middle of the room, growing more and more uncomfortable the longer Kyo simply stared at him like an irritating gnat. He was used to people looking at him. He used to people whispering behind his back, but rarely did anyone who wasn't Akito or Kyo ever look at him like he was something to be conquered and destroyed.

He hid his face as he bent and placed the stack of books next to Kyo. "These are this week's assignments, Shigure asked me to bring them to you."

"Yeah, thanks or whatever." He shifted his attention back to the book in hand and Yuki couldn't help but notice how being in bed a month had done little to dull all the sharp edges and rugged lines that made Kyo as masculine as he was feline.

Yuki swallowed, but found his throat impossibly dry. "Excuse me, I have homework I need to get back to."

Kyo frowned. "What the hell are ya telling me for? I don't care what you do."

Yuki braced himself against the unexpected pain inflicted by Kyo's words and all of the sudden he was suddenly reminded why he'd kicked Kyo as hard as he had. Spinning on his heel, he closed the distance between him and the door, pausing before he left to look over his shoulder and whisper. "If you want to to die alone like every other cat to ever carry the curse, I suggest an attitude adjustment."

"Yeah, well," his voice broke, "who asked you!"

By the time Yuki was back across the hall, seated behind his desk Kyo had already sworn to every god who'd listen that he'd have his revenge, that he'd find a way to beat Yuki and everything would change.

Yuki sighed quietly, "Of that, I have no doubt."

_**Later that night…**_

Over the last couple of weeks, he'd grown to hate every individual square inch of his ceiling. He'd also come to the decision that at some point he needed to figure out just how he was going to permanently patch up the whole in the ceiling. Honestly, if he thought he could reach it without straining himself, he would've ripped off the cardboard, regardless of how chilly it was outside.

At least, with the makeshift sky light he could look up at the full moon tonight. All he wanted to do was climb somewhere high and watch it for a little while, but the he just couldn't take the chance he'd end up doing something that might accidently result in even more time on bed rest. Rolling to his side, he came face to face with the stack of assignment's eagerly awaiting his attention and sighed heavily. He didn't want to fall behind considering he'd just now caught up with everyone else.

The stairs creaked as someone climbed them and Kyo knew it was Yuki without even having to scent him. Shigure and Tohru weren't night owls, but he and Yuki sure were—both could barely force themselves to go to bed until at least after midnight. It was just another part of the curse, he guessed.

Kyo sat up and rubbed his side, marveling that he hardly felt any pain at all. If anything his muscles were just sore and stiff from being horizontal and inactive for so long. Grabbing the first notebook on the stack he opened it and immediately knew it wasn't his. First of all, he barely wrote large enough for most other people to comfortably read. Second, since when did notebooks come with lined pages? And third, he didn't write like a sixteen year old girl.

Trying to remember whether Yuki had mentioned anyone lending him notes, he flipped to the first page and found 草摩 由希 neatly inscribed under the class number and rolled his eyes_._ That idiot had probably spent the better part of the night looking for it. If he hadn't already realized it was missing, he'd probably spend tomorrow morning raising hell about it.

Kyo grinned and glanced at the window, wondering just how hard he would have to throw for the notebook to never been seen again.

A white cat appeared on the window seal and meowed loudly.

Kyo frowned, "I didn't actually do it. It just crossed my mind."

It jumped from the window seal and landed nimbly on his futon. And Kyo turned the notebook over and wondered whether would be any harm in hiding it from him for a couple of days just as a way of getting some payback—after all, that asshole broke his rib.

Kyo's grip tightened on the notebook and the anger that had always burned at the very base of his being simmered and he thought back to how his Sensei had told him a long time ago that true peace was a perfect balance between rage and serenity. And that until he could learn to control them both, he'd never be strong enough to free himself from the curse.

The cat pawed at his stomach and he nodded. "I'm okay."

She purred in response and rubbed her face along the edge of the notebook. Kyo sighed, "Okay, okay. I'm going, I'm going."

Using the nearby wall to help brace him, Kyo hauled himself up to his feet as quickly as he could without risking injury. His stiff muscles cried out in a mixture of protest and pleasure, and he immediately took the opportunity to stretch his entire body from the top of his head down the curve of his spine. Whatever pain he felt was sufficiently dulled by the pain medication Hatori had prescribed for him. Along with that, though he'd probably never admit it aloud, Tohru's leek soup had done wonders for the gross feeling in his stomach the medication left behind.

Doctor's orders be damned—a trip across the hall wasn't going to kill him.

Appreciating the absence of pain, Kyo quietly crossed the distance from his room to Yuki's with ease. A noise that resembled a muffled voice drifted through the thin door and Kyo and the cat at his heels froze, their ears perking. Everything was silent for a few moments and Kyo looked down to cat, which looked up at him as she'd already figured out all of life's mysteries and he rolled his eyes. _Women_.

He slid Yuki's door open just a fraction and peeked inside to see Yuki already in bed asleep. Well, I'll leave it on his desk for him. Making sure to block the cat's entrance into the room, he pulled the door closed behind himself, knowing from past experience his little friends never rarely passed up an opportunity to knock things off of shelves and desks.

There was another noise and Kyo's brow furrowed as he tried to place just want the hell made such a sound and why. His eyes quickly adjusted to the difference of light and shade in the room and Kyo found himself transfixed on how the moonlight illuminated Yuki's hair into shiny, metallic silver. Yuki shifted beneath his blanket and Kyo narrowed his eyes, tracking the movement with aberrant curiosity.

Yuki lolled his head to the side and Kyo studied the way his eyes were squeezed shut, the way he seemed to be panting softly and the ever increasing presence of something moving back and forth beneath the covers. Kyo's eyes widened as the pieces came together and his shifted his attention back and forth between his cousin's flushed cheeks and the pumping motion beneath the blanket.

_Yuki is…_

Kyo shook his hair out of his eyes, shocked and completely incapable of deciding what to do about it. He knew that he should at the very least, but his feet wouldn't move.

Yuki arched back as a strangled little moan barely audible to average humans fell from his lips and the sound was so utterly raw and sexual, something wicked surged to life with Kyo's blood, warming his cheeks, chest and ears until he felt like he was being consumed from inside and out. Yuki winced, his arm working furiously under the cover and Kyo's mouth dropped open, his tongue flicking out over his bottom lip as if he could sample the air and taste whatever was fueling Yuki's fevered strokes.

Curiosity had somehow developed into something that left a tingling sensation down his spine in throughout his groin. Sweat broke out over Yuki's forehead and his breath hitched, slowly becoming rougher and deeper.

Heat rolled off of his body in jagged waves of sexual arousal and he couldn't help but pull his bottom lip beneath his teeth as his base instinct successfully stole the reins from him so quickly he wasn't really sure whether they'd been stolen or he'd simply handed them over.

Yuki let out a low moan and Kyo's eyes rolled shut as a sexual tremor snaked down his spine. He leaned back against the door frame, his hand drifting down his pajama clad thigh. Somewhere in what was left of his better sense, he knew that he was losing his mind because that could be the only reason the sound of Yuki's labored breath and firsthand knowledge of how it good it feels to have friction pushed him to wonder whether Yuki would've preferred Kyo's hand to his own.

His imagination spun from that line into several threads of thoughts that simultaneously disturbed and aroused him and he lolled his head to the side and watched as Yuki pushed himself ever closer to that shining edge. He released the hold he'd taken on his pants some point and brushed his fingertips against his growing erection. What if Yuki wanted to touch him back?

Inhibition slowly slid from his grasp as he zoned in on the little sounds emitting from the back of Yuki's throat and rubbed his palm against his erection, his entire body flexing as pleasure pulsed from the top of his head to the tips of his fingers.

An image of Yuki's beautiful little mouth wrapping around his cock filled his mind, and he bit his lip and grabbed himself a lighter tighter than comfortable, relishing how the little shock of pain sharpened his pleasure. The added friction of the flannel sent a shock ricocheting through his groin and Kyo jerked his fist, watching through hooded eyes as Yuki writhed, his mouth falling open as every muscle in body twitched and jerked with mounting tension.

_Scream for me._

As if he'd heard Kyo's silent command, Yuki lurched up, his spine bowing under the force of his release and whispered, "Kyo."

At the sound of his name something primal and sexual in Kyo responded, whipping a vicious bolt of possessive pleasure straight down his spine to cock. Something else he recognized as what was left of his fucking mind rang some sort of alarm and he knitted his brows together, trying to figure out whether he'd imagined it or not. _He just said my name, right? Or am I going crazy?_

"Kyo," Yuki moaned and shuddered, relaxing back down into the bed as he finished riding the fluid aftershocks of his orgasm.

_He just said my name, again._ Kyo eyes flew open as shock zapped whatever fog had managed to convince him that any of what had just occurred was even remotely okay.

The cat meowed somewhere in the hallway and Kyo spun toward the door, the notebook slipping from between his fingertips. Its descent played like a horror movie and when it clattered across the wooden floor, the sound seemed to echo forever.

"Kyo. What are you…How long have you…What are you doing in here?" Yuki was breathless and his words were clipped in a way that erased whatever hope that he may have felt even remotely as vulnerable as Kyo did.

On the contrary, Yuki sounded more annoyed than embarrassed. Kyo cringed, feeling incredibly stupid; standing like a statue, eyes squeezed shut as the monster of all blushes practically stained his skin. And so did the only thing he could think of and fled back to his room, hoping that we he woke tomorrow it would all have just been a dream.

_**Author's Note: **_

What'd you think? I hoped you guys enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed jumping back into these characters! Let me know what I did right, wrong and what I should work on for future chapters.

_**Anime: **_Fruit Basket (Note: This fic is based totally off of the anime.)

_**Characters(s): **_Kyo Sohma & Yuki Sohma

_**Setting: **_This story takes place before the last couple of episodes but far along enough in the anime for Tohru to have become a fixed presence in both Kyo's and Yuki's lives.

_**Chapter Rating: **_Rated 'M' for some mild kink. Warning! If you don't like Yaoi (boy x boy), this will not be your cup of tea.

_**Disclaimer**_: I do not own Fruits Basket. I simply aim to create fan-fiction to satisfy the yearnings of naughty little fan-girls and boys everywhere!


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